LEAP CARD - Updated Summary of Cards / Functionality Available - August 2015

Dravokivich

Differrent card types depend on your age range. I'm guessing you've got a standard adult card, first 3 digits are 100?

If so you are fine.

For the weekly cap. It doesn't matter how much you top up or how regularly you topup. Once there is enough credit on your leap card for the journey's you are making.

The Weekly caps are hard set Monday - Sunday.

For multi operator it covers Dublin Bus, Luas, irish Rail and is 40 per week.

Load locations. Dart/Commuter refers to Irish Rail. Once you select that it is available after a while to collect on any Leap device within Irish Rail. You can't then go and pick up the topup at Luas.

But as it's credit you are using, it doesn't matter who you purchase or collect the credit with. The Leap Card is just a medium for prepaying fares. The only time it makes a difference is if you have operator specific tickets on it. Such as ramblers with Dublin Bus.

You mention using monthly tickets. Does your workplace engage in the taxsaver scheme? You can get monthly/annual Irish Rail & Luas tickets that will be loaded onto a personalised leap card for you.

Dravokivich

GM228 wrote: »

The problem is a shop can legally determine whatever price it wants to charge for any item which is not subject to price control.

GM228

Payzone have revoked services from retailers that applied surcharges to cash transactions. There was a shop in Grafton st that was doing it on everything Leap card related. Even balance checks.

Kintarō Hattori

Dravokivich wrote: »

Differrent card types depend on your age range. I'm guessing you've got a standard adult card, first 3 digits are 100?

If so you are fine.

For the weekly cap. It doesn't matter how much you top up or how regularly you topup. Once there is enough credit on your leap card for the journey's you are making.

The Weekly caps are hard set Monday - Sunday.

For multi operator it covers Dublin Bus, Luas, irish Rail and is 40 per week.

Load locations. Dart/Commuter refers to Irish Rail. Once you select that it is available after a while to collect on any Leap device within Irish Rail. You can't then go and pick up the topup at Luas.

But as it's credit you are using, it doesn't matter who you purchase or collect the credit with. The Leap Card is just a medium for prepaying fares. The only time it makes a difference is if you have operator specific tickets on it. Such as ramblers with Dublin Bus.

You mention using monthly tickets. Does your workplace engage in the taxsaver scheme? You can get monthly/annual Irish Rail & Luas tickets that will be loaded onto a personalised leap card for you.

Yep first three digits are 100.

So realistically, Monday to Friday this shouldn't cost me any more than €160 per month and that covers me to use train, luas or bus?

If I top up, is there a time limit on how long the credit remains with your card?

At present the company doesn't offer us the taxsaver scheme, though I'm hoping that will change shortly as I'm going through management to chase HR about it.

Many thanks folks, I really appreciate the advice.

Victor

If travelling from Balbriggan, depending on how often you travel and what other journeys you make, consider getting a ticket loaded onto a Leap Card - it would need to be a personalised card with your photo.

Dravokivich

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

So realistically, Monday to Friday this shouldn't cost me any more than €160 per month and that covers me to use train, luas or bus?

You may need to double check with Dublin Bus on how their fares are done with the capping. When it first came in it used to only discount Xpresso fares. But now I think they may be fully covered within the fare cap. Nitelink isn't so some types of services may be exempt from it.

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

If I top up, is there a time limit on how long the credit remains with your card?

There used to be something in the Terms and Conditions stating the travel credit is valid for upto 24 months from last used. been a while since I looked at it.

LXFlyer

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Yep first three digits are 100.

So realistically, Monday to Friday this shouldn't cost me any more than €160 per month and that covers me to use train, luas or bus?

If I top up, is there a time limit on how long the credit remains with your card?

At present the company doesn't offer us the taxsaver scheme, though I'm hoping that will change shortly as I'm going through management to chase HR about it.

Many thanks folks, I really appreciate the advice.

Balbriggan-Connolly is €9.20 return using LEAP on the train, so that's €46 per week.


LEAP will cap that at €40, and throw in unlimited travel on LUAS and Dublin Bus as well.


The only time limit for a LEAP card is where a card has been inactive for more than 2 years - otherwise the credit is perfectly valid.

LXFlyer

Dravokivich wrote: »

You may need to double check with Dublin Bus on how their fares are done with the capping. When it first came in it used to only discount Xpresso fares. But now I think they may be fully covered within the fare cap. Nitelink isn't so some types of services may be exempt from it.

Nitelink and Airlink are the only services outside the cap now.
Everything else counts towards it in full.

Dravokivich wrote: »

There used to be something in the Terms and Conditions stating the travel credit is valid for upto 24 months from last used. been a while since I looked at it.

As in my post above - the 24 month period is still valid - once the card is used at any time a new 24 month period would start.

LXFlyer

Victor wrote: »

If travelling from Balbriggan, depending on how often you travel and what other journeys you make, consider getting a ticket loaded onto a Leap Card - it would need to be a personalised card with your photo.

There are realistically three options:


1) Use weekly credit capping - €40. That will work out on average at €160 per month assuming four weeks holidays


2) Get monthly rail/LUAS ticket - New price from December of €176


3) Get annual rail/LUAS ticket - New price from December of €1,760


Personally I would go with the travel credit option for the moment as it incorporates all three operators.

thelad95

Can anyone shed some light on the leap 90 discount? I was the under impression the second charge was €1 only but today I was docked €1.40 for my second journey which was a Luas from stephens green to milltown after getting the 16 from Dorset Street to College Green. have I done something wrong or is there another condition I'm missing?

Edit: Student personalised leap if it makes any difference.

devnull

It's €1 off the next journey.

thelad95

devnull wrote: »

It's €1 off the next journey.

Ohh right silly me :rolleyes:

billyhead

Is the credit that a leap card holder adds to their leap card at one of those vending machines at a dart station valid for use on Dublin Bus or must you purchase credit in an agent such as a shop to use on Dublin bus. Sorry it its stupid question but I don't want to purchase credit at the vending machine at the train station to load onto my annual irish rail travel pass which expires next year when I cant use it on Dublin bus

Slippin Jimmy

billyhead wrote: »

Is the credit that a leap card holder adds to their leap card at one of those vending machines at a dart station valid for use on Dublin Bus or must you purchase credit in an agent such as a shop to use on Dublin bus. Sorry it its stupid question but I don't want to purchase credit at the vending machine at the train station to load onto my annual irish rail travel pass which expires next year when I cant use it on Dublin bus

You can use credit at a vending machine for travel on any service.

bg07

The leap card website has been updated, much better than it was but still not the easiest website to find what you need.

The history section is still as before. They should make a bigger effort to demonstrate where leap 90 or the daily cap was applied etc. Unless you're very familiar with how the fares work it is fairly cryptic as to how the values are calculated as demonstrated by the queries on this site.

Awaaf

Can you add Pay as you go credit to annual leap cards? Mine is Bus and DART only but a few quid for the occasional Luas trip would be handy. I can't seem to register it on my account so maybe not I guess.

LXFlyer

Awaaf wrote: »

Can you add Pay as you go credit to annual leap cards? Mine is Bus and DART only but a few quid for the occasional Luas trip would be handy. I can't seem to register it on my account so maybe not I guess.

You don't have "an annual LEAP card" - you have a LEAP card with an annual ticket loaded onto it. A LEAP card is just that, a card.

Read the first post of this thread and you will see that yes you can use your card either in "pay-as-you-go" mode (once you load cash onto it) or you can use the ticket depending upon what you want to do.

Awaaf

lxflyer wrote: »

You don't have "an annual LEAP card" - you have a LEAP card with an annual ticket loaded onto it. A LEAP card is just that, a card.

Read the first post of this thread and you will see that yes you can use your card either in "pay-as-you-go" mode (once you load cash onto it) or you can use the ticket depending upon what you want to do.

Cheers Lx and thanks once again for the great summary. I was sure that what you say is correct.

I am still a bit confused about why I can't register the Leap Card which I got from my employer (with the annual Bus/DART ticket) so as to enable auto topup. Maybe it is because the online account is in my spouses name? Do I need one in my own name? My previous e-purse leapcard was registered under his login (an bank account for auto-topup) no problem.

Thanks again!

ZeroThreat

There seems to be some sort of problem with topping up credit on the website right now. When I enter my CC details and hit the 'make payment button' I just get a screen with a payzone logo and the message "The page cannot be found - The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. "

I was trying to top up last night as well but the site was down for maintenance so I couldn't even log in.

Edit : Never mind, it appears to work now that I switched browser from Firefox to Chrome.

crazy 88

Apologies if this was answered already, but why do taxsaver Leap cards need to be tagged on/off and do they plan to change this? I have been on paper taxsaver tickets up to now and always valued the convenience of not having to do so, especially at rush hour

tobsey

danmci wrote: »

Apologies if this was answered already, but why do taxsaver Leap cards need to be tagged on/off and do they plan to change this? I have been on paper taxsaver tickets up to now and always valued the convenience of not having to do so, especially at rush hour

If it's a Luas only ticket I think it's for reporting purposes so that they can keep track of volumes of users.

However I got a combined Dublin Bus/Luas ticket and I realised that the Luas tag on machine was taking money from my purse on it rather than validating the ticket. Dublin Bus gave me a refund for the credit used and told me not to tag on the Luas. I used to see two ticket checkers a week on the Luas but since I got the tax saver I haven't seen one! Dublin Bus told me they'll see the ticket with their handhelds so it won't be a problem that I didn't tag on.

Victor

danmci wrote: »

Apologies if this was answered already, but why do taxsaver Leap cards need to be tagged on/off and do they plan to change this? I have been on paper taxsaver tickets up to now and always valued the convenience of not having to do so, especially at rush hour

Leap Card isn't a ticket. The electronic token on the Leap Card is the ticket. That token has to be loaded on to the Leap Card. If you get monthly tickets, you need to make sure that the ticket is loaded onto the card. Tagging-on before a journey makes sure that your ticket is up to date.

There are other reasons, like tracking total Luas usage.

tobsey wrote: »

However I got a combined Dublin Bus/Luas ticket and I realised that the Luas tag on machine was taking money from my purse on it rather than validating the ticket. Dublin Bus gave me a refund for the credit used and told me not to tag on the Luas.

That sounds like someone making things up on the spot. I would ask for that in writing. Are you sure you have a combined Dublin Bus/Luas ticket?

tobsey

Victor wrote: »

That sounds like someone making things up on the spot. I would ask for that in writing. Are you sure you have a combined Dublin Bus/Luas ticket?

Yes I definitely do. It appears as such on the Dublin Bus validators when I tag on and also on the leapcard.ie site.

I think there's a bug in their system because I think it was working for me originally. I live in Swords so I sometimes use the Swords Express. I loaded €50 onto the leap card at a Luas terminal one week into the first monthly ticket I had. I then used that to purchase a ten journey ticket for Swords Express for €35. This left me with €15 balance on the card and then one time I tagged onto the Luas I noticed it was taking from the purse. I logged on and found that there were a number of deductions for the Luas, but only after I bought the Swords Express ticket. I'm nearly certain I had tagged on the Luas the previous week before buying the ticket but I can't be certain.

I was in touch with Luas, Leap and Dublin Bus helplines. Luas and Leap said the card was issued by Dublin Bus so it was their problem. The guy in Dublin Bus basically said it wasn't working properly and he'd arrange a refund. He asked me to print out the statement from Leapcard.ie and bring it to him. He marked the transactions that I shouldn't have been charged for and then brought me up to the cash desk in the O'Connell Street head office. The cash desk gave me the refund but even they were surprised they were doing so because it was Luas that took the money. They gave it to me anyway because the guy from their helpline said to.

I'm pretty sure it's a bug in that the Luas tag-on terminals are only seeing the latest ticket, rather than all tickets, and therefore saw the Swords Express ticket (or no ticket at all) and said it wasn't valid for travel on the Luas and so deducted the money from the purse.

There are probably very few if any other people loading private operator tickets onto cards with taxsaver tickets so maybe it hasn't come up before.

Victor

Have you used the card on Luas since the refund?

magicbastarder

tobsey wrote: »

Dublin Bus gave me a refund for the credit used and told me not to tag on the Luas.

a good few months ago, luas employees were insisting you need to tag on even if you've a prepaid ticket (i assume to track passenger numbers). they dropped that requirement after a month or so.

tobsey

Victor wrote: »

Have you used the card on Luas since the refund?

No. Didn't want to risk it taking off more credit because I'm not going to go chasing a refund of 1.50 or whatever the fair would be. As I said above I used to see lots of inspectors but haven't seen one in a month I'd say.

Carawaystick

tobsey wrote: »

I was in touch with Luas, Leap and Dublin Bus helplines. Luas and Leap said the card was issued by Dublin Bus so it was their problem.

If Leap/NTA won't fess up to their own issues at this stage, the ITS is broken.

ntaWebsite wrote:

In broad terms, the Authority’s statutory functions can be summarised as follows:

Nationally (including the Greater Dublin Area)

Procure public transport services by means of public transport services contracts;
Provide integrated ticketing, fares and public transport information;
Develop an integrated, accessible public transport network;

I'd write to Anne Graham and give out. That's what we pay her the big bucks for .

traco

Just got leapcards for the kids - thought it would be handier than looking for change all the time for the bus. They only use buses randomly as they walk to school etc so its only for trips to town or such things.

Anyway - I've been monitoring it and using it and I have to say its a poor system. 10 Years ago in Hong Kong when out regulalry on business I used the Octopuss card and assumed the leap would be similar. Tag on and off, buy goods etc and all at exact prices.

The biggest issue I see is that the top up has to be validated at a Dart or Payzone shop. Not such an issue if you are taking the Dart but my oldest was refused on the bus even though the card had been credited but hadn't been validated or whatever in a Payzone shop, Surely in this day and age that is totally ridiculous.

The other issue is the rate on the bus, it seems that using the car its now a flat €2.60 or else they are not tagging off or something whereas paying with cash it was €1.20

LXFlyer

traco wrote: »

Just got leapcards for the kids - thought it would be handier than looking for change all the time for the bus. They only use buses randomly as they walk to school etc so its only for trips to town or such things.

Anyway - I've been monitoring it and using it and I have to say its a poor system. 10 Years ago in Hong Kong when out regulalry on business I used the Octopuss card and assumed the leap would be similar. Tag on and off, buy goods etc and all at exact prices.

The biggest issue I see is that the top up has to be validated at a Dart or Payzone shop. Not such an issue if you are taking the Dart but my oldest was refused on the bus even though the card had been credited but hadn't been validated or whatever in a Payzone shop, Surely in this day and age that is totally ridiculous.

The other issue is the rate on the bus, it seems that using the car its now a flat €2.60 or else they are not tagging off or something whereas paying with cash it was €1.20

The travel credit has to physically get onto the card - there is no other way to do it than touching a "live" terminal such as one at a Payzone agent or at a DART/LUAS stop. The ticket machines on the buses are not live as they do not have sufficient memory space to do so.

It sounds to me like you have got your children adult leap cards, rather than child versions? The €2.60 fare is the adult fare that applies if you use the righthand validator?

Child LEAP cards details are here:
https://www.childleapcard.ie/

With child fares, there are several options on Dublin Bus:
* Schoolchild fare (€0.75) - use righthand validator (applies up to 19:00 Mon-Fri and 13:30 on Saturdays)

Outside of these hours, the following fares apply and different rules:
* Travel 1-7 stages - (€0.90) - use driver's ticket machine

* Over 7 stages (€1.10) - use righthand validator

Special Child fares apply in the following circumstances:
* Xpresso buses - special fare of €1.20 applies via righthand validator

* Route 90 - Special fare of €0.90 applies via righthand validator

* City Centre fare - Special fare of €0.60 applies via driver's ticket machine

AlekSmart

traco wrote: »

Just got leapcards for the kids - thought it would be handier than looking for change all the time for the bus. They only use buses randomly as they walk to school etc so its only for trips to town or such things.

Anyway - I've been monitoring it and using it and I have to say its a poor system. 10 Years ago in Hong Kong when out regulalry on business I used the Octopuss card and assumed the leap would be similar. Tag on and off, buy goods etc and all at exact prices.

The biggest issue I see is that the top up has to be validated at a Dart or Payzone shop. Not such an issue if you are taking the Dart but my oldest was refused on the bus even though the card had been credited but hadn't been validated or whatever in a Payzone shop, Surely in this day and age that is totally ridiculous.

The other issue is the rate on the bus, it seems that using the car its now a flat €2.60 or else they are not tagging off or something whereas paying with cash it was €1.20

If the card is being debited by €2.60 then it's an ADULT Leapcard (Dark Green)
The Child Leapcard (Pale Green) will default to either 75c (School-hours) or €1.10 (outside School-hours)

I believe,Traco,that you are being somewhat negative about the benefits of Leapcard,and in particular Childleapcard.

Leap is far from being a "Poor System",as given it's admittledly poorly handled introduction,it has matured very well indeed.

I suggest a Daily Bus Only Cap of €2.50 represents great value.

The ready availability of individual 75c Flat-Fare Bus Journeys up until 1900 on weekdays for a young person up to 19 years old is also fantastic value.

The issues raised over "Validation or whatever" are short circuited somewhat by the knowledge that the entire Load-Location and Collection process is FULLY explained in Leapcard publicity.

Further,as part of the online top-up process,one must actually choose the location in advance of payment,with specific notices regarding the NON Availability of collection on Dublin Bus.

Even this mild inconvenience can be circumvented by choosing to enable auto top-up,thereby ensuring that a Leapcard will always be useable.

Leap Cards can also be Topped-Up online:

1.Go to www.leapcard.ie.
2.Click 'Top-Up'.
3.Enter your card number.
4.Select Top-Up amount and load location.
5.Make your payment by credit/debit card.
6.Collect your Top-Up at your nominated Load Location.

Leapcard.ie Homepage
https://www.leapcard.ie/en/PageSetting/ContentViewer.aspx?Val...

In this day & age with vast amounts of information freely available at the click of a button,it is somewhat unfair not to avail of the opportunity to study it,in advance of running the entire system down.

Kintarō Hattori

Folks, silly question but I use the card for irish rail and the Luas. Tonight I need to take a Dublin bus. Do I put the card on the machine by the driver and tell him where I'm going on use it on the machine to the right as you enter the bus? Presumably if it's the latter I also need to tag off?

Many thanks.